UHC-Childrenhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc
enSynonymshttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/synonyms
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Synonyms are different words that have identical or similar meanings. Synonymy is one of the least understood <a title="UHC Linguistics Semantics" href="/uhc/linguistics/semantics">semantic relationships</a> in language, mostly because perfect synonyms are rare and “near synonyms” are numerous. Near synonyms are words that are very similar in meaning but may be used in slightly different ways, such as the words ‘high’ and ‘tall’. Some linguists argue that no two synonyms are exactly identical since phonic qualities, etymology, and usage can still differ between words. Regardless, synonyms can help enhance communication in situations where some words are more appropriate or powerful than others despite similar meanings.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0388000102000189" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:30:34 +0000dwernerspach465 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/synonyms#commentsPointing as a Form of Communication in Babieshttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/pointing-form-communication-babies
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Pointing is a universal action for babies, used as an elementary form of communication. Before they can speak, babies will often point to objects to alert adults of what they want. “Pointing is a means of making definite reference that is intimately linked to gesture and speech.” When adults speak back to a baby as they point to objects, it creates a link between the baby’s vision and hearing that becomes essential to language development and communication. “Pointing allows visual objects to take on auditory qualities, and this is the royal road to language.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2003-00985-002" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:27:33 +0000dwernerspach464 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/pointing-form-communication-babies#commentsSuppression and Language Comprehensionhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/suppression-and-language-comprehension
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Suppression, in terms of communication, is a cognitive process that interferes with thought and stifles any superfluous or improper information before it can be spoken. Suppression enhances both the effectiveness of communication on the part of the speaker and the ease of understanding on the part of the listener. Studies have shown that suppression affects many aspects of language, including recollection of word meanings, decoding of grammar, and individual differences in language comprehension skills. Furthermore, suppression is thought to play “a crucial role in the understanding of figurative language, in particular, metaphors, idioms, and proverbs.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378216699000077" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:26:07 +0000dwernerspach463 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/suppression-and-language-comprehension#commentsInappropriate Languagehttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/inappropriate-language
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Inappropriate language is any form of speech, expression, or gesture that elicits a strong, negative emotion in the recipient. Inappropriate language is found in all cultures, though what is considered inappropriate varies from culture to culture, based on customs. Researchers examined whether individuals internally monitor their speech to prevent inappropriate language from being spoken. In this experiment, researchers elicited speech errors from participants that were either inappropriate or simply incorrect. The results found that there was increased brain activity prior to inappropriate speech, suggesting “that taboo utterances can indeed be detected and corrected internally.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01190.x/abstract;jsessionid=CD87BFD1F257934BEE2C07B5AF78CBEA.d04t03?deniedAccessCustomisedMessage=&amp;userIsAuthenticated=false" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:25:05 +0000dwernerspach462 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/inappropriate-language#commentsEvolution of Behaviorhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/psychology/evolution-behavior
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Behavior is thought to have evolved through the principles of natural selection: the behaviors that help organisms survive are more likely to appear than those with no benefits. Behaviors that aided in the survival of distant human ancestors were likely passed down to offspring, eventually forming the set of behaviors that make up natural instinct. However, humans are able to consciously act in ways that contradict instinct, either enhancing or harming chances of survival. Throughout history, the constant blending of inherited, instinctual behaviors and non-instinctual, learned behaviors has guided the evolution of human behavior to its current state.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=FWnb2oFnS6IC&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PR12&amp;dq=Evolution+and+Human+Behavior&amp;ots=9NGutxWfWN&amp;sig=TCdTeWxZonP6nR0-9W4p8O7t8IQ#v=onepage&amp;q=Evolution%20and%20Human%20Behavior&amp;f=false" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:07:33 +0000dwernerspach461 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/psychology/evolution-behavior#commentsLanguage and Consciousnesshttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/language-and-consciousness
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Consciousness is an essential component of not just psychology, but linguistics as well. During communication, consciousness allows individuals to distinguish between given information, or what the speaker assumes the listener already knows, and new information, or what the listener is hearing for the first time. Much of communication revolves around the dynamics of information sharing, since speakers must determine what listeners already know and what they need to know in order to advance the conversation. As speakers often need to make assumptions about what listeners already know, psychological concepts such as <a title="UHC Linguistics Theory of Mind" href="/uhc/psychology/theory-mind">theory of mind</a> and egocentrism come into play during communication.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/412014?uid=3738032&amp;uid=2&amp;uid=4&amp;sid=21101150290257" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:51:27 +0000dwernerspach458 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/language-and-consciousness#commentsSynesthetic Metaphorhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/synesthetic-metaphor
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>A synesthetic metaphor is a <a title="UHC Linguistics Metaphor" href="/uhc/linguistics/metaphor">metaphor</a> that crosses different senses to describe one entity in terms of another. For example, one might refer to a vibrant color as “loud” or a pleasant smell as “sweet.” Synesthetic metaphor specifies a certain sense, but invokes imagery that is linguistically described in terms belonging to a different sense. “Of the various senses, hearing is most frequently expanded and elaborated upon by synesthetic metaphors.” Studies have revealed that colored sounds (“loud" or "quiet” colors) are the most common type of syntesthetic metaphor in the English language. Furthermore, "visual hearing" predates language and may have even influenced language development.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.theassc.org/files/assc/2358.pdf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:39:13 +0000dwernerspach457 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/synesthetic-metaphor#commentsLoss of Languagehttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/loss-language
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>For various reasons, some languages wane and eventually become extinct over time. The loss of language can have a profound effect on culture, which is intimately linked to language. “Culture is expressed through language; when language is lost, those things that represent a way of life, a way of valuing, and human reality are also lost.” Linguists argue that teaching children a language in school is not enough to ensure the language will survive. Instead, older speakers of a language must implement “strategies directed toward family life, culture building, and promoting a sense of community,” in conjunction with language teachings.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&amp;_&amp;ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED395732&amp;ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&amp;accno=ED395732" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:24:19 +0000dwernerspach455 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/loss-language#commentsPhonetic Symbolismhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/phonetic-symbolism
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Two forms of phonetic symbolism exist: “associative or referential, and phonic or expressive.” An experiment attempted to measure feelings of symbolism associated with certain vowels and consonants, separated from the meaningful words in which these letters usually appear. The results found that participants were more likely to consider fake words with the letter ‘a’ larger than fake words with the letter ‘i’. The researchers concluded that “acoustically, certain vowels have greater "volume" than others,” causing them to be subconsciously assigned more symbolic importance, regardless of “any actual word associations of the language.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/xge/12/3/225/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:21:12 +0000dwernerspach454 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/phonetic-symbolism#commentsSymbolic Speechhttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/symbolic-speech
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Symbolic speech is a specific form of communication, involving actions that clearly and purposely convey a particular message. A notable example of symbolic speech is the act of flag burning, which clearly conveys feelings of anger toward a nation without overt verbal expression. This type of behavior is found in all cultures, where various gestures represent different sentiments depending on the culture. Since symbolic speech is protected as a facet of <a title="UHC Linguistics Freedom of Speech" href="/uhc/linguistics/freedom-speech">free speech</a>, courts must often determine whether actions qualify as symbolic speech by examining “the actor's intent, the likelihood of audience understanding of the message being communicated, and the context of the activity”.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1123391?uid=3738032&amp;uid=2&amp;uid=4&amp;sid=21101148797037" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Link to science research article</a></div></div></div>Mon, 20 Aug 2012 23:20:07 +0000dwernerspach453 at http://fgcnp.orghttp://fgcnp.org/uhc/linguistics/symbolic-speech#comments